Chapter 3 — The Invisible Girl

Dad looked at me again and again, then finally sighed and turned around to get in the car. The car took me straight to the high-speed train station. After getting on the train, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I had arrived. The driver sent by the company was standing at the door signaling me.
“You've been waiting a long time, haven't you?”
I'm a little shy. The driver shook his head and laughed loudly. Maybe I've been mentally stressed these past few days, and I fell asleep not long after. When I arrived, I was woken up by a phone message. Parents went to Japan. The younger sister is constantly sending messages in the family group.
"Japanese girls are so cute, their skin is beautiful, everyone's nose is pretty. I have to go to the cosmetics store to check it out later."
"Do you need toiletries? Or a shaving razor?"
The older brother replied almost immediately.
“I don't need anything, you can buy it for yourself.”
“Hehe, you are the best.”
It's getting dark. The driver turned his head to look at me.
"Ah, you're awake. I was still thinking about whether I should wake you up or not."
"The flight is at noon tomorrow. You can still get a good night's sleep now. You look very tired."
My eye rims turned slightly red. Even the new driver could notice my fatigue. But my family never cared.
"Thank you."
After paying, I opened the door and got out of the car. The company has arranged accommodation. I lived in the same apartment with girls who were also deployed abroad.
"Tinh Chan, you're finally here. We were just waiting for you."
They pulled me to the hot pot and asked what I liked to eat. I suddenly froze, my voice sounded like I was stuck. At home, the person in charge of dipping the food is always me. I know what my parents like to eat, what my brother and sister like to eat. But I don't know what I like personally. The five of us girls sat around together. In the conversation there is anticipation for the future, there is also tension. But even more so is the enthusiasm of the newborn calves that are not afraid of tigers. At night before going to bed, the family group chatted excitedly. The younger sister sent their dinner into the group.
“Sushi, eel rice, tempura.”
The photos were taken very beautifully and thoughtfully. Parents hold plates of food and coordinate to pose humorously in front of the camera. Very warm. The brother deliberately exclaimed:
"Everyone is so happy, I'm alone at home eating instant noodles."
Mother immediately replied:
“Eh, doesn't it cook rice?”
This “it” clearly refers to me. The brother casually said:
“I don't know, probably sleeping.”
I looked at the clock. It's been ten hours since I left, and you still don't know I'm gone.
"I'm so lazy that I can't even cook rice. After I get married, my mother-in-law will definitely say I don't know how to teach girls."
Mom kept nagging and sent several text messages, obviously intentionally letting me see them. But in this house, I'm not the only girl. My sister has never cooked rice and can't even wash the dishes. But mom never told her. Sometimes when she does housework, her father sadly says:
"Girls shouldn't be too talented. Otherwise, people will automatically consider all of those things to be their job."
Meanwhile, normally I'm in the kitchen, washing a seemingly endless pile of dishes. They don't know how to love others. They just don't love me. See I don't answer anything What, my sister suddenly mentioned my name in the group.
"Sister, what kind of perfume do you like? I'll buy you a bottle."
Perhaps because she receives enough love, her sister is not a person who holds grudges. She proactively chose to break the coldness between us. But I didn't answer. Because whether I answer or not, the result is the same. If I say thank you, there's no need. Mom will feel that my sister's kindness is treated like a wild animal's kindness by me. If I really said what I wanted, my mother would logically tell me to send money. So I chose to pretend I didn't see it. Less than two minutes later, dad mentioned my name.
"Your sister is talking to you but why don't you answer? Also, where are you taking your suitcase this afternoon?"
Mom sent a sarcastic emoji.
"People are very arrogant, don't meddle in their affairs."
She quipped a few words, then the group became quiet again. The process was exactly what I had predicted. The next morning, my brother who hadn't talked to me for twenty-four hours sent a text message.
"Do you need me to take you to work? I knocked on your door but there was no response."
“I'm gone.”
"Why are you leaving so early? The supermarket doesn't open until nine o'clock."
I looked at his message, calmly waited a few seconds. In the end still didn't send anything more. At noon, my colleagues and I boarded the plane. When the plane drew a long white line in the sky, I couldn't help but turn my head and look in the direction of the house. But what surprised me was that there was no attachment or insecurity in my heart. Only relief remains. Upon landing in Mexico, the company arranged the vehicle. Colleagues' phones rang simultaneously. It's their family members asking if they are safe or not. Throughout the journey, the smiles on their faces never disappeared.